Sports evolved over the 2oth century in numerous ways, perhaps the most influential has been the growth of player salaries and how that has transformed players from childhood heroes into superstar celebrities. This is not to say that professional athletes are not the same good ol’ boys fans loved to cheer for because we undoubtedly still do the same. I am simply saying that with money comes a certain arrogance and swagger that goes to the heads of many if not the majority of professional athletes today. Money has changed our pastimes forever, it has created the emergence of free agents and drowned out any real possibility of players staying with teams for their entire careers with few exceptions.
The growth of players salaries has not been a negative though, many professional athletes have charities that benefit the less privileged youth of America today. Money has provided ball clubs with the opportunity to reach out to every demographic and allow all people to enjoy their respective sports. Teams now have the ability to broadcast on different networks as well as provide the everyday fan with a phenomenal viewing experience in a pro stadium.
Money will continue revolutionize sports and will continue to change our professional athletes. We must hope and pray that no matter how much money is funneled into sports and no matter how much technology advances that they never strip our pastimes of their human factor and never compromise the integrity of the games we love.
I think your point can be extended to athletic coaches as well. I read this article online about the highest paid college football coaches, and Mack Brown at Texas was the highest paid coach with a contract worth $5.1 million! Not far behind is Pete Carroll at USC with a $4.4 million contract and Urban Meyer at Florida with a $4 million contract. It is crazy to think that while teachers are getting laid off and educational systems are experiencing budget cuts, there are college coaches whose salaries are being raised!
As to another point you made about teams being able to provide the everyday fan with “a phenomenal viewing experience,” I think the fact the CBS aired the final March Madness game in 3D is a clear example of this. Speaking of that, do you know anyone who watched the final March Madness game in 3D on television? I really want to hear what people thought about it, if it made the game any more exciting than for those of us watching it in 2D.